Society Diaries

LaToya M., Chicago, Illinois

Name:LaToya M.

Occupation: Systems Analyst

Wedding Date and Location: May 27, 2007 Chicago, IL

Wedding Theme Colors: Sage and Silver

Wedding Day Style: Simple and Elegant

Dress: David's Bridal, Monique Luo

Florist/Floral Design: Flowers First by Erskine, My bouquet: white roses and callas; bridal party: Leonidas roses

Cake: Delicious Creations, Classic yellow with buttercream with floral top

Reception Location:Chateau BuSche

Ceremony Location:St. Columbanus Catholic Church

Hair & Makeup:BrideStyle, hair and makeup, www.bride-style.com

Photography:Modern Image Studio, Ty Bohen

Wedding Song: "Fortunate" by Maxwell

Rings: Blue Nile & Rogers and Hollands

Favors: Glass coasters from FavorWarehouse

Honeymoon:Maldives Rangali, Hilton World Resorts

What made my wedding special, memorable or unique: Merging of two cultures - Louisiana and Kenyan traditions

"Try to shoot for a Sunday wedding to save on costs; Read 'Wedding Planning for Dummies' - it offered great suggestions and tips."

Abigail W., Chicago, Illinois

"The day of the wedding goes so quickly! Try to live in the moment and pause to take it all in. Have a friend take pictures on your digital camera so that you and your new husband can relive the beautiful moments on your flight to the honeymoon!"

Names: Abigail F. W. and Kevin B. Donnelly

Occupation: Abigail is a 2nd year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Kevin is a Pathologist with Eli Lilly & Co.

Wedding Date and Location: June 3, 2007 - The Odyssey Yacht departing from Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

Wedding Theme Colors: Navy Blue and White.

Wedding Day Style: Classical

Dress: A vintage Oscar de la Renta gown embroidered with Swarovski crystal details at the waist , bust and hem

Florist/Floral Design: Buttercream calla lillies and olive branches from Pacific Callas for all of our flowers. They were able to send us hundreds of gorgeous calla lillies, in any color we wanted in perfect condition and were incredibly helpful with all the details.

Cake: Swedish Bakery in Chicago. Three tiered cake from with fudge/marble/vanilla cake layers, hazelnut and chocolate ganache filling with French buttercream frosting, decorated with buttercream hearts. The Swedish Bakery provided us with a gorgeous cake that was delicious to boot.

Ceremony and Reception Location: The Odyssey Yaht, Navy Pier, Chicago. The wedding coordinators, crew and everyone at The Odyssey Yacht were so helpful, thoughtful, and took care of every detail, from the runner on the aisle to the centre pieces on the tables to the phenomenal pianist at the reception onboard.

Bridal/Honeymoon Acessories: Earrings, necklace and bracelet by Givenchy. Tiara by Swarovski. Lingerie by Vera Wang. Shoes by Christian Louboutin.

Hair & Makeup: The very fabulous Maritza Buelvas & Milian Bonillo of www.bride-style.com

Photography: John Rinehart

Ceremony Location: The Odyssey Yacht

Wedding Song: Suite for Cello No. 1 in G Major, Prelude, Bach

Rings: Tacori

Honeymoon: The Bahamas

What made my wedding special, memorable or unique: "Having our friends and family travel in from three continents and across the US to share the beginning of our lives together - it was the most wonderful feeling walking down the aisle together as husband and wife and recognizing the love and hope in every single face."

Maribel L., Chicago, Illinois

Maribel was a featured REAL Bride on TBS's "Brides Gone Styled" TM editorial photo shoot. To submit your photo for consideration for a future photo shoot contact us at:

thegirls{at}thebridesociety.com, subject heading: model request

"Things will not go as planned, but it will not ruin your special day. I had several things go wrong on my day, but I just smiled my way through it."

Society Bride: Maribel Lopez

Wedding Date: October 26, 2007

Society Theme: A mix of American and Mexican cultures

Society Colors: Fall colors, specifically burnt orange

Wedding Dress: Moonlight at Eva's Bridal, Oak Lawn

Flowers: Haydee's Flowers

Cake: Creative Cakes

Bridal Accessories: Francesca's Collection Boutique for Jewelry; BCBG Shoes, Nordstroms

Hair and Makeup: BrideStyle www.bride-style.com

Photography: Zuno Photography

Videography: Zuno Photography

Ceremony Location: St. Gall Church

Reception Location: DiNolfo's Banquets, Homer Glen

Wedding Song: We had two songs: Lauren Hill's "Cant Take My Eye's Off of You" and "Contigo Aprendi" by Louis Miguel played by Mariachi Perla de Mexico

Reception Entertainment: DJ Lalokera and Mariachi Perla De Mexico

Rings: Our wedding rings where a gift from my husband's parents

Wedding Favors: Made in Mexico

Invitations: We made our own invitations

What made our wedding special or unique:

My husband and I were set on having a wedding that represented us in every way. That is why we decided to have a wedding with a mix of American and Mexican cultures.